10 Massively Underrated Japanese RPGs You Must Play
4. Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
Ni No Kuni is another game with significant pedigree behind it it was developed as a collaboration between Level 5 and Studio Ghibli, the globally-recognised animation studio. Right from the start, you can see the influence that Ghiblis chief, Hayao Miyazaki, had on the visuals, his style is immediately recognisable. It isnt only the visuals, though; Ni no Kuni accurately captures that wistfulness and tenderness of so many Ghibli productions. In Oliver, the orphaned protagonist, the game echoes one of Ghiblis trademark themes: that of children being forced to grow up before their time, and the hardships that come with it. The gameplay is pretty intricate, and can take some time to get used to especially given the levels of complexity involved in each part but that isnt to say its not enjoyable. For comparison, its probably most similar to the action battle systems of later Final Fantasy games. You control one character and their familiars in real time, using attacks and abilities which have cooldown timers, and assign tactics to the other characters in your party. The familiars are probably what make the game, however. Most of the wildlife in the world can be trained into a familiar, Pokémon-style, and they all have loads of different abilities, spells, and roles that they can use basically your entire minion team is customisable. It makes for an interesting use of strategy, as you have to swap out different familiars to have a better chance at the various (and frequent) boss battles. If you like watching Ghibli movies, just imagine playing one. Ni no Kuni lets you do exactly that.
